Every good move starts with seeing the board clearly.
Twenty-five years teaching mathematics. Over thirty years playing competitive chess as a USCF-ranked Expert. Many ways of thinking — patient, precise, unafraid of a hard position — taught over Zoom or Microsoft Teams, wherever you are.
Every knight move is a line.
Three ways to work together
Every consultation starts with the same first step: understanding what’s worked so far, and what hasn’t.
Math Consulting & Tutoring
From Developmental Math through Calculus, Statistics to SAT Prep — one-on-one sessions built around attitude, time management, and the prerequisite gaps that are actually holding a course back.
Explore Math Consulting →Chess Tutoring
For first-time players discovering the game and serious competitors sharpening theirs — game analysis, study plans, and direct feedback from a USCF expert-rated player.
Explore Chess Tutoring →Presentations
Talks on the mathematics of chess, college mathematics, and the decision-making skills both disciplines demand — for classrooms, colleges, and conferences.
Book a Presentation →Why math and chess teach the same lesson
Passing a course is one thing. But what skills does it actually teach you?
Perseverance
Showing others you don’t fold when the odds — or the position — turn against you.
Precision
A dropped decimal or a hung pawn — both come from the same lapse in attention.
Patience
Neither comes easily. Both reward the repetition it takes to make a concept stick for good.
Perspective
Seeing why the work was worth it in the first place — on the board and off it.
A mathematician who studies chess the same way he studies math.
Dr. Darrin Berkley is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Frederick Community College and an Adjunct Professor at Towson University. He previously served as a SOAR (Student Outreach and Retention) Coordinator and academic advisor, and as a chess club advisor working with student government and student leaders to organize chess events and training.
He reads hundreds of student discussion posts a year tracking exactly where math confidence breaks down — and brings that same diagnostic eye to every chess lesson and every consulting session.
- B.A. Mathematics — Colgate University
- M.Ed. Mathematics Education — Millersville University
- Ed.D. Mathematics Education — Morgan State University
- USCF Expert, top 7% nationally, 30+ years competitive play
Simple, hourly pricing
No packages to decode. Presentation fees are quoted individually based on audience size and travel.
Ready to make your next move?
One session is usually enough to tell whether the fit is right — for a course, a tournament, or a talk.
Schedule a Consultation